Puppet Master
by Kaz Gemcity
Summary: He is pulling strings. Watch your back.
1. Chapter 1

He pulls the strings. The strings of life, but more importantly, the strings of death. He decides who lives and who dies. That's all there is to it. And the thing is, he is always right.

He is not God.

He is not the Devil.

He is the Puppet Master.

Here he comes.


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N- Sorry for the confusion guys! That last chapter was more of an opening/set the scene/ set the mood type chapter. This is going to be more than a one-shot. And I should start to get where I am going in this chapter.**_

"Peter, it is so simple." Neal Caffery began to explain to his partner.

"Not all of us have forged priceless masterpieces, Neal." Peter answered.

"Allegedly forged." Neal corrected, before continuing.

"The proof is in the pudding, Peter." Peter could hear Neal smiling through the phone.

"The paint!" Peter exclaimed after a minute.

"She doesn't have the exact same paints that were used hundreds of years ago. If we test the paints we will be able to tell which ones are real and which are McDonald's." Now it was Neal's turn to hear Peter smile, as he always did when he found out a way to net the bad guy.

"I told you Peter, it's..." Neal was cut off and Peter could hear the background of New York traffic for a moment before the phone was picked up from the ground where it had clattered.

"Hello? Neal?" Peter asked slowly, praying that he could get the FBI building in time.

"Hello Agent Burke." A young girl's voice said, as Peter pulled out of traffic and parked next to his office.

"Who is this?" Peter demanded, pushing security aside and rushing to the elevator. The girl giggled.

"Wouldn't you like to know."

"What do you want?" Peter questioned.

"Same old same old. You know how it goes." She said, her voice ringing with the high pitch of a child's laughter.

"How what goes?" Peter motioned to Jones to trace the call.

"Life and death." She said seriously.

"Where's Neal?" The question was directed at both Jones and the phone. Jones pointed the computer screen just in time for a shrill alarm to go off.

"That doesn't matter right now, Agent Burke." The girl reprimanded.

"What is that?" Peter demanded of Jones.

"Neal's anklet was cut. Peter, I think we have a problem." Jones said.

"I am going to leave Neal's pretty jewelry right where you can find it." The girl said cheer coming into her voice.

"Why are you doing this?"

"Just call me the Puppet Master." Then all Peter could hear was the ring tone. That and the annoying beep of Jones's computer.

"Would you turn that off!" Peter snapped, pacing back and forth with his phone pressed to his chin.

"Where is he, Jones?" He asked after a minute, his voice deadly calm.

"Third street." Jones answered.

"Call Diane, tell her to meet me there." Peter said running out of the building again.


	3. Chapter 3

As Peter rushed to third street, he didn't know what he expected to find.

An anklet and a drop of blood?

Thousands of people surrounding a crazy man holding a gun to Neal's head?

Neal cutting the anklet and skipping town?

As much as he hated to admit it, Peter hoped that it was the last one. Because if it was the last one, it meant that Neal was not hurt. It meant that Neal was okay and doing what he did best, escaping, running. But sadly, the last one did not explain the creepy voice and the Puppet Master. Peter drove faster.

What Peter did not expect is what he found.

Neal was standing on the curb talking quickly with Mozzie. Something was bugging him.

"Remind me to kill her later." Moz was saying to his friend as Peter came within earshot.

"Who?" Peter asked, joining the two in conversation.

"Suit. So nice of you to join us. What do we owe the pleasure?" Peter smiled at Mozzie before he could stop himself. The way the little man talked was just so entertaining.

"Neal just cut his anklet and was kidnapped by a crazy, five year old girl calling herself the 'Puppet Master.'" Peter said offhandedly, shrugging his shoulders.

"I didn't know I had been kidnapped, that is an interesting life development, don't you think, Mozzie?" Neal asked, just as casually.

"I don't know. Have you been kidnapped before?" He asked, playing along with the somewhat random conversation.

"Yes, but never by a crazy five year old." Neal commented.

"Didn't you just come in from a trip to Boston, Moz?" Peter asked, cutting his eyes around the busy street.

"Last time I came, it was _a long flight_." He continued, nodding to the questioning look in Neal's eyes that yes, there was a problem. Neal turned to Mozzie and mouthed the word 'streetlamp.' The smaller man nodded and rushed away, just as Diane pulled up in her standard issue, blue Ford.

"Where's he going?" Peter asked, puzzled.

"Monday." Neal answered, getting into the car before Peter or Diane could question him further.


	4. Chapter 4

**_A/N- Sorry this took so long guys. I get caught up in the first couple of chapters of whatever new story I'm writing and then have to remember to finish the ones I started. Oh well. Sorry. Okay, so here we go. . . Again. I hope you like it. Let me know what you think, if you have any suggestions, etc. I'm sure you know the drill by now. _**

Thinking about it moments later, Neal realized it probably wasn't the best idea to get into the car with Peter and Diana if he wanted to avoid getting the third degree. He cut his eyes forward at Peter and then turned definitively to the window.

Peter glanced up and rolled his eyes at Neal's defensive pose. Having Neal sitting behind him again did offer a sort of comfort though. If he was being honest with himself, Peter had been extremely worried about his partner. Now that he was back safe and sound, they had to figure out what was going on.

"So, do you know any psychotic five year olds, Neal?" Peter asked. Neal continued to stare steadfastly out the window.

"No." He answered shorty. Peter turned away. Then a thought popped into his head.

"Show me the anklet." He demanded. He caught the twist of Neal's eyes in the darkened window's reflection. Neal reached down a hand and pulled up the leg of his silk suit. The anklet was clipped firmly in place. Smirking, Neal hooked a finger through the plastic and tugged. It did not give.

Diana glanced over.

"What's up Boss?" She asked.

"I don't know." Burke answered, his mind rushing.

The three drifted into their own thoughts. But the quiet was shattered as Peter's phone rand shrilly.

"Agent Burke." He answered.

"No, he's right here."

"It's still on."

"No, it doesn't look tampered with."

"Yeah, we'll be there soon." Peter hung up, slipping his phone back into his pocket. Neal and Diana stared at him expectantly.

"That was Hughes. All the computers say that you cut your anklet and are half-way to Cuba." He said, looking at Neal. The gears started to turn in the younger man's head. Peter could see it in his eyes.

"Moz is going to love this." He muttered. And then louder, directed at Diana and Peter,

"I think someone hacked the FBI."


	5. Chapter 5

**_A/N- So this story is wierd. I know that. It hasn't gone the way I planned, but what story ever does? Oh well. I love my White Collars. Have you all noticed that it is now on Netflix? Because I noticed that this morning and it totally made my day. :-)_**

**_'Tis a wonderful Black Friday today, even though I will not be out shopping. I hope you all have a happy and safe holiday season._**

**_And on with the story..._**

"That's not possible." Peter and Diana said at the exact same time as they both turned back to look at Neal.

"Well obviously it is since I'm not currently being held captive by some random kid, and my anklet is still firmly attached to my leg." He said, his voice still short and sharp, that was unusual for the mild mannered man.

"Ok. Well then there is very few people in the world who have the ability to get through out defenses." Peter stated.

"Also not true. The CIA was recently hacked by a thirteen year old boy using his dad's seven year old laptop. Anyone with any measure of determination and the right skills could do it. Actually you wouldn't even need skill, all you would need is Youtube." Caffery said, tapping his fingers lightly on his leg and staring out at the passing traffic.

Diana and Burke shared a glance. It was unlike Neal to be so biting. Something must be getting on hi nerves, and seriously too, or else he would not let it show in his emotions. The man was unusually good at hiding whatever it was he was feeling.

"So then what's your answer?" Diana demanded, glancing in her rearview mirror at a red light.

"Well I don't know. Someone hacked the FBI, that's your field not mine."


End file.
